Gone With The Wind Was Robbed

[Gothampc]

Posted: 3/3/14 at 4:52pm

How come the Oscars gave a tribute to The Wizard Of Oz but ignored the 75th Anniversary of Gone With The Wind?

[bobs3]

Posted: 3/3/14 at 5:00pm

While GWTW is definitely a classic and one of the greatest films ever made, its depiction of slavery would probably have been seen an insult to a film like 12 YEARS A SLAVE.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 3/3/14 at 5:22pm

What was the purpose of honoring any 1939 release on the occasion of its 75th Anniversary?

Am I the only one who found it contrived and odd? Sure it was nice to hear Pink sing Over the Rainbow, but is that enough of a reason for this? I don't recall the Oscars ever honoring a classic movie on the occasion of a major anniversary.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 3/3/14 at 7:25pm

Didn't they do an homage to movies from 1939 in 1989 or 1994? I seem to remember something of the sort and, of course, GWTW was included.

But I agree with Henrik, it's one thing to honor the star of a classic film, but her children? Even though one is an Oscar winner and another is a name in her own right.

Although Pink did a good job of singing "Rainbow" without imitating Garland, the whole thing seemed awkward to me.

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 3/3/14 at 8:43pm

The Academy didn't honor it, the producers did. The last couple of years has been all about their own personal wish fulfilments, it seems to me. Which is fine.

Updated On: 3/3/14 at 08:43 PM

[bwayobsessed]

Posted: 3/3/14 at 8:48pm

Well, Gone with the wind got the oscar for best picture, that was it's honor....the Wizard of Oz deserved the tribute it got

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 3/3/14 at 8:52pm

They could also have mentioned the irony was that Over The Rainbow was almost cut from the film.

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 3/3/14 at 9:06pm

There wasn't really time for a whole lot of trivia.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 3/3/14 at 9:11pm

I think interactive Wizard of Oz trivia would've been a great way to bring in the young people! Or maybe Ellen could have read from the Wikipedia entry about the movie.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 3/3/14 at 9:44pm

There wasn't really time for a whole lot of trivia.

Speaking of which, as much as I love The Wizard of Oz, it was a pointless tribute. Same goes for the heroes montage and Midler's song and the pizza delivery gag. They had nothing to do with the previous year's movies, and they take up valuable time that should've gone to the honorary awards. (I'm still resentful that Lansbury didn't get to accept her Oscar in front of millions worldwide.) The ceremony should be first and foremost about honoring the nominated films and paying tribute to the vets. If I had my way, the broadcast would be built around the opening monolog, the 24 categories, the nominated songs, the honorary Oscars, and the "In Memoriam" segment. These would take precedence. Then, if there's time, a skit or gag (i.e. group selfie).

[best12bars]

Posted: 3/3/14 at 9:57pm

The Wizard of Oz is probably (easily) the best known film from the 1930s today, even though Gone With the Wind was the massive blockbuster of the era. Many contributing factors. Oz is a family film. As Whoopi Goldberg said, it was a TV "event" for adults each year when they were growing up as kids. For younger generations today, the movie is a fantasy, not reliant on any specific time or era, so the movie doesn't feel anywhere near as dated as other films.

Gone With the Wind tells a Civil War story from the Confederate point of view. And even if Scarlett's tale of survival strikes a universal chord in people, it is set against a whitewashed, romantic interpretation of the Deep South that is not only unrealistic, it's offensive and distasteful to many people today, understandably so.

In simpler words, the movie just isn't aging well. Other films have told effective stories from the "enemy's" point of view, like All Quiet on the Western Front, one of the best anti-war films ever made, told from German perspective during World War I. It focuses on the high hopes and frenetic patriotism at the beginning without painting an idealistic viewpoint of pre-war Germany. All the young men enlist and go off to war, and very little is said in the film about the politics behind it.

Gone With the Wind begins with a Southern Utopian society, where happy slaves work for the kind plantation families and the biggest concern of the day is who is getting married to the wrong person.

I love the movie, and it's still one of my favorites, mostly because of how well it was made and for my nostalgia discovering it at such an early age. But the story's perspective makes me cringe at times, and more so with each passing year. It's not only a "civilization gone with the wind" as they say in the movie's prologue, this is a sentiment depicted on the screen that is also "gone with the wind" a little more each day.

To honor this movie, especially in a year with 12 Years a Slave as the frontrunner for Best Picture, would not just be somewhat uncomfortable, it would be a slap in the face to the progress and awareness made by filmmakers and storytellers in the last 75 years.

As for honoring The Wizard of Oz last night, the cynic in me says it has as much to do with Warner Bros. marketing as Samsung sponsoring the telecast while Ellen wanders around the audience with a Galaxy snapping selfies of the stars. Maybe there was a deal made or sponsorship dollars involved. Maybe it was a dream of the producers, or maybe it was both.

I'm happy about it. The Wizard of Oz is still my favorite film, but aside from my personal opinion, I don't think you could name another move from that era that is as widely known or loved. That's reason enough to note its anniversary to me.

Oh, and to answer your question about the 50th anniversary of the film in 1989, the Oscars did honor it, but they chose to do a mini-tribute to ALL of the classic movies released in 1939, which was (and often is still) cited as the "best" year in cinema history.

Updated On: 3/3/14 at 09:57 PM

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/4/14 at 3:27am

"I'm happy about it. The Wizard of Oz is still my favorite film, but aside from my personal opinion, I don't think you could name another move from that era that is as widely known or loved. That's reason enough to note its anniversary to me. "

Snow White? (Or any of the pre-war Disney features really...)

[oasisjeff]

Posted: 3/4/14 at 3:34am

"If I had my way, the broadcast would be built around the opening monolog, the 24 categories, the nominated songs, the honorary Oscars, and the "In Memoriam" segment."

Midler's song was part of the In Memoriam segment. In previous years, they had people sing over the In Memoriam, so I think they tried to incorporate it differently. If you noticed at the end of her song, they put all the faces of the In Memoriams up behind her, as well as the link to go online for more.

[best12bars]

Posted: 3/4/14 at 7:02am

Eric, I would even put Snow White a distant second after Wizard of Oz. Part of it has to do with Disney's own marketing strategy over the years of pulling their films and putting them on a moratorium for ten years, only to "launch" them again to a new generation a decade later. It's paid off for them in the home video department as far as sales go, but Snow White was not as readily available through the years. it never showed up on TV when I was growing up, and the VHS came out rather late in the format. Yes, it was an "event" when it was finally released, but it's not in the same league as Wizard of Oz as far as its wide distribution as a film, even though in the 1930s it was a bigger hit.

I would say the Snow White characters are perhaps closer to being as well known as Oz far more so than the film itself, because Disney never stopped marketing them in every way imaginable. But the movie was hard to come by for many decades.

[Jim Colyer]

Posted: 3/4/14 at 11:54am

I watched Gone With The Wind again recently. Scarlet O'Hara is an inspiration for us all.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 3/4/14 at 11:56am

delete

Updated On: 3/4/14 at 11:56 AM

[best12bars]

Posted: 3/4/14 at 12:16pm

Most of those were people most watching the awards never heard of.

I can't even shuffle those words into a thought. Mr. Travolta? Is that you?

[best12bars]

Posted: 3/4/14 at 12:24pm

By the way, I hear there are definitely plans to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Gone With the Wind. A new documentary, etc., but showcasing it at the Oscars alongside "12 Years a Slave," would only serve as bad publicity for the aging "Wind."

The actual release date was September 9th, 1939, so look for celebrations, specials, merchandise, etc., geared toward that time of year.

Wizard of Oz's official 75th anniversary, which has been going on for the past year, is August 25, 2014, so I'm sure we haven't heard the last of Dorothy and her pals. There are and will be more celebrations going on throughout the spring and summer.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/4/14 at 6:31pm

Besty, that's a fair point and I definitely agree with you. I guess I was just trying to think of movies from the same era that are on some level a part of the collective memories of kids and adults. I love GWITW (though feel largely the same way you do about it) but it isn't even a movie that most of my friends have ever seen, though of course they would recognize the title.

[strummergirl]

Posted: 3/4/14 at 6:45pm

Whatever, Stagecoach and The Rules of the Game are the best 1939 films anyway.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 3/4/14 at 6:55pm

Midler's song was part of the In Memoriam segment. In previous years, they had people sing over the In Memoriam, so I think they tried to incorporate it differently. If you noticed at the end of her song, they put all the faces of the In Memoriams up behind her, as well as the link to go online for more.

It felt awkwardly tacked on. She should've sang it during the segment. As it was, her song needlessly prolonged the segment.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 3/4/14 at 7:48pm

Most of the names were those of insiders no one ever heard of. I wonder who was l left off.

Responding to last post even though it is in wrong thread.

Updated On: 3/4/14 at 07:48 PM

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 3/4/14 at 11:34pm

BTW, for those who find the film of GWTW cringe-worthy, try rereading the book. I did a couple of years ago and found the entire work not just cringe-worthy, but actually sickening.

[best12bars]

Posted: 3/5/14 at 6:45am

That's a good point, Gav.

I think it's fascinating, though, that a lot of the criticism the movie receives today is because of glossing-over of the Deep South and its actual treatment of slaves and slavery. Yet part of the reason this movie was toned down, even from the book, is because of the African American actors cast in the roles. They refused to appear in the movie unless the N word was dropped completely from the script even though it appears throughout the novel.

There are several other instances, such as the slapping of Prissy, that were deliberately softened at their request (actually, their demand).

So the African Americans themselves contributed to the "kinder" depiction of the white, Southern, plantation owners by insisting many of the harsher ingredients be eliminated.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 3/5/14 at 8:00pm

Thanks, best12, I didn't know that.

I'm sure my view of the book is influenced by having read Robert Penn Warren's defense of slavery in I'LL TAKE MY STAND, a collection of essays by the Fugitive poets. (Warren later repudiated his essay and spent his later years apologizing for it.)

It also doesn't help that I have now read WAR AND PEACE and realize what Mitchell was aiming for and how miserably she failed.